In the News

While there are plenty of compelling reasons to create a single food safety agency, the Trump administration’s plan to consolidate food safety functions at USDA under a new reorganization plan is unlikely to have legs, because Congress probably won’t approve the move and statutory changes needed to make it happen are so substantial, food safety experts say.

“I think there’s a fundamental political hurdle, but also a substantive one,” said Bob Hibbert, partner at the law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP, and former USDA senior attorney. “There would have to be congressional action and changing the status quo, and existing committee structures and budgetary control is very, very difficult, and traditionally is one of the main reasons why this doesn’t change.”